Gades to keep veteran Canadian Football League QB
Wayne Kondro, The Ottawa CitizenPublished: Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Quarterback Kerry Joseph is poised to return to the Ottawa Renegades next season as the four-year veteran and the club have reached an agreement in principle on a $2-million, five-year contract extension after a week of intense bargaining.
The deal, which isn't expected to be officially inked until the new year, would make the 31-year-old McNeese State University graduate the cornerstone around which the Renegades would plan to rebuild their inconsistent offence, which ranked sixth in the CFL last season in total yardage and had difficulties producing in crucial situations.
Renegades president Lonie Glieberman declined to discuss details of the agreement.
"One thing we told the league we would do is that we wouldn't announce any player contracts until they are sent to the league office and approved. So we are going to make no comments regarding contracts. What we will say is that (head coach) John Jenkins and (general manager) Forrest Gregg are extremely high on Kerry Joseph, and they think that they can build a strong offence with Kerry Joseph as the quarterback.
"And if Kerry Joseph is going to be the quarterback of this team, the team would definitely like to see him under a long-term contract," Glieberman added.
Joseph completed 337 of 537 passes last season for a 62.8-per-cent completion rate and 4,456 yards, while tossing 25 touchdowns and being intercepted 23 times. He also carried the ball 153 times for 1,006 yards, an average of 6.6 yards per carry.
With Joseph all but firmly in the fold for the next five years, the Renegades have discontinued erstwhile talks with Saskatchewan that would have moved the quarterback to the Roughriders in exchange for quarterback Nealon Greene, Scott Gordon and the Riders' first two selections in the 2006 Canadian draft.
Although rumors of the trade talks with Saskatchewan have periodically resurfaced in recent weeks, the notion was dismissed by Gregg at the time as "totally, totally off-base."
Gregg added that his primary goal over the near term was to "solidify the quarterback position. I'd like to get Kerry Joseph re-signed so he would be here, but if somebody wants to talk to me about Kerry Joseph, that's fine, I will entertain any offers.
"Any football team, one of the key positions is the quarterback."
Getting Joseph back in the fold will also likely curtail ongoing Renegade efforts to rope in a marquee name such as Nepean product Jesse Palmer to man the quarterback position and help the club in its marketing initiatives.
But presumably, should Palmer or another big-name quarterback suddenly become available in the coming weeks, the agreement between Joseph and the Renegades could theoretically collapse.
Quarterback Kerry Joseph is poised to return to the Ottawa Renegades next season as the four-year veteran and the club have reached an agreement in principle on a $2-million, five-year contract extension after a week of intense bargaining.
The deal, which isn't expected to be officially inked until the new year, would make the 31-year-old McNeese State University graduate the cornerstone around which the Renegades would plan to rebuild their inconsistent offence, which ranked sixth in the CFL last season in total yardage and had difficulties producing in crucial situations.
Renegades president Lonie Glieberman declined to discuss details of the agreement.
"One thing we told the league we would do is that we wouldn't announce any player contracts until they are sent to the league office and approved. So we are going to make no comments regarding contracts. What we will say is that (head coach) John Jenkins and (general manager) Forrest Gregg are extremely high on Kerry Joseph, and they think that they can build a strong offence with Kerry Joseph as the quarterback.
"And if Kerry Joseph is going to be the quarterback of this team, the team would definitely like to see him under a long-term contract," Glieberman added.
Joseph completed 337 of 537 passes last season for a 62.8-per-cent completion rate and 4,456 yards, while tossing 25 touchdowns and being intercepted 23 times. He also carried the ball 153 times for 1,006 yards, an average of 6.6 yards per carry.
With Joseph all but firmly in the fold for the next five years, the Renegades have discontinued erstwhile talks with Saskatchewan that would have moved the quarterback to the Roughriders in exchange for quarterback Nealon Greene, Scott Gordon and the Riders' first two selections in the 2006 Canadian draft.
Although rumors of the trade talks with Saskatchewan have periodically resurfaced in recent weeks, the notion was dismissed by Gregg at the time as "totally, totally off-base."
Gregg added that his primary goal over the near term was to "solidify the quarterback position. I'd like to get Kerry Joseph re-signed so he would be here, but if somebody wants to talk to me about Kerry Joseph, that's fine, I will entertain any offers.
"Any football team, one of the key positions is the quarterback."
Getting Joseph back in the fold will also likely curtail ongoing Renegade efforts to rope in a marquee name such as Nepean product Jesse Palmer to man the quarterback position and help the club in its marketing initiatives.
But presumably, should Palmer or another big-name quarterback suddenly become available in the coming weeks, the agreement between Joseph and the Renegades could theoretically collapse.
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